The second-ranked Ohio State men's tennis team proved to be too tough Friday night, as the Buckeyes defeated 36th-ranked Tennessee 4-0 at a packed Goodfriend Indoor Tennis Center.

"I want to thank everybody that came out and supported us," head coach Sam Winterbotham said. "It was a great atmosphere and this type of crowd makes our student-athletes experience that much better.

"The guys gave it everything they had; they competed and represented UT very well. Ohio State was just too good and you have to give credit to them. They are going to have a fantastic year, as are the Volunteers."

The Buckeyes (6-0) had breezed past its first five opponents but Tennessee (3-2) showed early that it would not go down without a fight. After OSU won at the No. 3 doubles position, 34th-ranked duo Adam Hubble and Ben Rogers won for UT at No. 2 doubles. The doubles point would come down to the No. 1 position between two top-25 teams. UT's Bobby Cameron and Kaden Hensel, ranked fifth in the nation, trailed 7-4 to Ohio State's 22nd-ranked tandem of Chris Klingemann and Devin Mullings but the Vols won the next three games to tie the match and eventually forced a tiebreaker. The OSU duo outlasted UT in the tie-breaker, though, winning the match and the doubles point for the Buckeyes. This is the first match this season that Tennessee did not win the doubles point.

For the second straight match, the Vols found themselves in an uphill battle as Ohio State won the first set on all four courts. The Buckeyes are the nation's only team to have all six players in its singles lineup ranked and Ohio State played like it in the first set of singles.

Justin Kronauge, ranked 69th, gave Ohio State a 2-0 lead with a straight-set victory over Rogers, 6-3, 6-2. Bryan Koniecko, ranked 62nd, extended Ohio State's lead with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Kaden Hensel.

Mullings, ranked 42nd, clinched the match for Ohio State with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Davey Sandgren. Mullings trailed in the second set 3-2 before running off four straight games to take the set, the match, and clinch the win for the Buckeyes.

Cameron, playing the nation's No. 1 ranked singles player Steven Moneke, lost the first set 6-1 but battled back in the second to force a third set. The set was tied at two games apiece when the match was called.

Sophomore Derek Stephens had a 3-0 lead in the first set of his match against Chris Klingemann, ranked 46th, when the match was stopped.

Tennessee returns to action Thursday when it hosts 45th-ranked ETSU at the Goodfriend Indoor Tennis Center.